Mail-carrier.



Patented Iuly I, |902.

No. 703,44I.

A. L. MuMMA. MAIL CARRIER. (Application flied .fune 8A, 1901.)

A TTORNE Y (No Modl.)

UNITED SrArssA IPATENT OFFICE.

ABRAHAM L. MUMMA, OF MECI-IA'NICYSBURG, OHIO.

MAIL-CARRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 703,441, dated J' uly 1, 1902.

A Application fllea June 3, 1901.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM L. MUMMA, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Me-y chanicsburg, in the county of Champaign and State of Ohio, have'in'vented certain newand useful Improvements in Mail- Carriers,l of which the following is a speciiication, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to mail-carriers, and more particularly to an apparatus for use in connection with rural-delivery routes where the point of delivery and collection of the mail is located at a distance from the residence or place of business of the person for whom vit is intended, and has for its object-to provide means whereby the box in which the mail is deposited for delivery and collection may be readily transportedfroln the place where it is accessible to the carrier to the residence, "house, or place of business and as readily returned. A

To these ends the invention consists in certain novel features, which I will nowproceed to describe and will then particularly point out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of anapparatus embodying Vmy invention in one form. Fig. 2 is an'enlarged detail perspective view of arportion ofthe same. Fig. .3.'is a side elevation, partly in section, of one of the supporting-wheel brackets and its wheel. Fig.`4'is a front elevation of the same, also partly in section. Fig. 5 is a detail View of one of the signaling devices, and Fig. 6 is a detail view of a modification of a portion of the apparatus.

In the accompanying drawings, in which I have shown an apparatus embodyin'gmy invention ink one form, 1 indicates a suitable elevated way or track, consisting', preferably, of a wire or the like extending from the point where the carrier collects and delivers the mail to the residence or place of business of the addressee. In the' present instance the post 2, which is one of the two terminal supporting-posts of the wire l, is located at the former pointto wit, wherethe carrier collects and delivers the mail-While the post 3, which is the other terminal post, is located at the house or residence. The ends'of the serial No; 62,845. (Nd model.)

wire 1 are suitablyT secured to the posts 2 and 3, respectively, and the intermediate portion of the wire is supported at intervals by meansl of suitable intermediate posts or uprights 4, any suitable number of which may be employed, according to the length of the line. Each post 4 is provided with a metallic supporting-arm 5, secured to the post by means of a base 6 and bolts or screws 7, said arm extending outward and upward from the post and being provided atits upper edge with a groove or seat Sto receive the track-wire 1, which fits therein flush with the upper surface of the arm and is secured by soldering, brazing, or in any other suitable manner.

9 indicates the letter-box, which is preferably provided at one end with a hinged clofsure 10, which may be secured by a lock 11 of any suitable character and which also is preferably provided with a letter-receiving slot or opening 12. This box has secured to its upper side a vertical arm 13, in which is mounted a grooved trolley-wheel 14, adapted to travel upon the track-wire 1. I prefer to construct these parts as shown in the drawings, the vertical arm being bent upon itself to form a loop or housing 15, between the parallel portions of which the trolley-wheel 14 is journaled, and the free end of the arm being extended downward below the level of the track-wire, so as to prevent the box and its arm from becomingdisengaged from the wire andepfalling in case the Wheelshould leave the track. It will also be observed that this extension 16 is deflected outward away from the vertical body of the arm, so as to clear the bracket-arm 5 as the device moves along the track-wire.

In connectionv with the track-wirel and the letter-box traveling thereon I employ a traction wire, cord, or other flexible device 17, the ends of which are connected to the box 9, said traction-wire passing around a grooved idle wheel 18 'on the terminal post 2, and

around a similarly-grooved actuating-wheel 19 at the terminal post 3. The actuatingwheel 19 is providedwith a crank-.handle 20, by means of whichit may be rotated to in1 part movement to the wire and to the letter- Between one or both ends of the wire 17 and the letter-box I interpose a springer IOO springs 21, which serves not only to properly tension the wire and keep it from sagging, but also to relieve the initial strain thereon when the apparatus is started. It will be observed that the wheels 18 and 20 revolve in vertical planes, so that the traction-wire between said wheels is in two portions lying the 'one above the other. The upper portion of the wire passes over a series of supportingwheels 22, each of the intermediate posts 4 being provided with such a supporting-wheel and each wheel being mounted in a two-part or divided housing 23, the bolt 24, which connects the two parts of the housing, serving also as a pivot or bearing-axis for the wheel. One of the two halves of the housing is provided with a bracket-arm 25, having a base 26, by means of which the housing and its wheel are secured to the base 4. Each housing is provided at its upper part with upwardly and outwardly diverging guiding arms or fingers 27, having lips 28, which extend over the lateral margins of the wheel 22, as shown in Fig. 3. The supporting-wheels 22 are so located relatively to the track-wire 1 that as the letter-box approaches and passes over one of said supporting-wheels the traction-wire will be lifted out of the wheel and a sufcient distance above the same to permit the box to pass clear of the wheel and its upwardly-extendingguiding-arms. These arms with their lips 28 insure the return of the traction-wire to the grooved surface of the wheel after the box has passed over the same.

The lower portion of the traction-wire 17 passes over supporting-wheelsl29, also mounted on the intermediate posts 4, each Wheel being mounted in a two-part housing 30, one member of which is provided with a bracketarm 3l and base 32, by means of which it may be secured to the post. The two members of the housing meet above the wheel to form a guard, as indicated at 33, which prevents the wire from slipping off the wheel.

It is desirable that suitable signals should be provided, whereby it may be determined at the house-station when the letter-box has reached the carrier-station, and also to provide means forindicating when mail has been deposited by the carrier in the box at his station. This arises from the fact that the two stations may be so located relatively to each other as to be invisible from the opposite end of the line or out of range of the ordinary means of signaling. In order to provide a signal to indicate when the letter-box has reached the carrier-station, or, in other words, the terminal post 2, I prefer to employ a visible signal mounted on or forming a part of the traction-wire 17, and for this purpose I use a button, knot, Aorenlargement 34, secured to or formed on the wire and so placed that when it appears at the actuating-wheel 19 it will indicate that the box is at the farther end of its line of travel. Any other suitable visible signal may be employed, or the button or enlargement may be used to actuate an audible signal, such as a bell. In order to enable the carrier to indicate that he has deposited mail in the box, Iprefer to employ an audible signal, consisting of a bell 35, located at or near the post 3 and having cooperating with it a clapper orhammer 36, connected byaspring or resilient supporting stem or shank 37 with a lever 38, pivoted at 39 near its lower end and having its lower extremity 40 located in the path of a pin 41 on the actuating-wheel 19. The weight of the hammeris suiiicient to hold the parts in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5 of the drawings, and when the carrier has deposited mail in the box, by giving it a shove, so as to move it and the tractionwire a short distance, the pin 41 will come into contact with the lower end 40 of the lever 38 and will move the same over until it has passed the vertical, when it will fall by gravity, so as to bring the hammer into contact with the bell. A stop 42 in the path of the upper portion ot' the lever 38 limits the movement of the lever toward the bell, so that the hammer will contact with the bell through the bending of the flexible portion 37, thereby causing the hammer to move clear from the bell as soon as it has struck the same, and thus prevent its deadening the vibrations thereof. When the parts are in this position, the pin 41 passes clear of the lower end 40 of the lever, so that the bell is not sounded during the further operation of the apparatus, and after the box has been returned to the carrier-station the bell-lever may be' reset, ready for a second operation.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself strictly to the precise details hereinbefore described, and shown in the accompanying drawings, as they obviously may be Varied without departing from the principle of my invention. For instance, the actuatingwheel instead of being driven by power applied thereto directly may be geared up in the manner shown in Fig. 6, being provided with a sprocket-wheel 43, over which passes a sprocket-chain 44, which also passes over a larger sprocket-wheel 45 on a wheel 46, to which the power is directly applied.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

An apparatus of the character described, comprising terminal and intermediate supporting-posts, a track-wire supported on said posts, a letter-box provided with a trolleywheel to travel on said track-wire, a grooved idle wheel supported on one terminal post, a grooved actuating-wheel supported on the other terminal post and provided with a crank handle, grooved supporting wheels mounted on the intermediate posts and forming an upper and a lower series, the upper series of supporting-wheels being mounted in upwardly-diverging arms or fin gers having at IOO IIO

their lower edgeslips extending over theperipheries of the whee1s',a traction-wire passing around the idle and actuating wheels and over the intermediate supporting-Wheels and having its ends connected to the letter-box, and a spring interposed between said traction-wire and the letter-box, said supportingwheels, idle wheel, actuating-wheel, trackwire and traction-wire being loeated in vertical alinement, substantially as described.` 1o

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ABRAHAM L. vMUMMA.

Witnesses:

FRED OWEN,

CEAS. A. Woon. 

